focus group assessment of a community out reach dental health education program

Community outreach extra mural programs are increasingly used in dental education to achieve several outcomes such as providing services for the underserved, preparing students to practice in the real world and to decrease the costs of maintaining clinical education. The Dental Public Health Department in the Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University introduced a pilot school-based community outreach dental health education program to investigate the possibility of using this approach in education. This study explores the attitudes and impressions of fourth year students towards this outreach program using focus groups assessment, which is a data collection technique used in qualitative research to explore perceptions and attitudes of participants. Content analysis and framework analysis were used for data analysis. Findings of the focus groups proved that students had a favorable impression of the program. Positive outcomes were gained by the program such as increased confidence, awareness of the denlist role as a community educator and improved communication skills. Areas identified by the focus groups that need to be addressed in future planning of such programs are: need for curriculum change, improving student supervision, credit points awarded for the procedures performed in these programs , defining the nature of the relationship between the extra mural site and the educational institution in addition to financial support of these programs. The outreach program proved to be a successful experience as perceived by the students. Plans for such programs need to address the issues identified in the study and to involve stake holders so that community outreach programs can be a part of the curriculum